4 hacks to make your family more frugal

Being a parent and caring for a family can be financially challenging. Between providing clothing, food and an education for your kids, it’s easy to see how your bank balance can take a hit. However, budgeting where your brood is concerned may be easier than you think. Here are four simple hacks you can put into action to make your family more frugal.


Shop around for the best deals

From your TV package to your internet and phone plan, it’s important to seek out the best deals if you want to become more savvy with your spending. For example, when it’s time to renew your home insurance, make sure you look around to see if you can bag yourself a cheap deal. Using a broker such as Chill.ie can be an effective way to suss out what’s on offer before you purchase. If you’re paying for a satellite TV package, you could bargain with your provider to cancel any extras or add-ons in an attempt to save some pennies. For example, if your kids are not so little anymore, you could scrap the children’s channels in return for a lowered monthly fee.


Be more energy conscious

It’s no secret that being more energy conscious can save you money, so why don’t more of us take note? From switching lights off in empty rooms to turning appliances off at the plug socket, there are a whole host of quick and simple tricks you can use to save yourself some cash. You can even install the importance of this into your kids. Not only will you be teaching them a valuable lesson, you’ll also begin to see your energy bills fall.


Plan your meals

While visiting a restaurant now and again as a treat is perfectly acceptable, you may want to think about cutting back on how often you and your family head out for a bite to eat. Making meals from scratch using fresh ingredients will enable you to keep an eye on your purse strings and it’s a much healthier option too. You can also plan your meals in advance. This will save you a lot of time and effort and it’s a guaranteed cost cutter.


Arrange a stay cation

Instead of splashing out on an expensive holiday for you and your family, why not arrange a staycation instead? While taking a week off to spend it at home might sound unappealing at first, you might be surprised to learn how much fun you and the kids could have without breaking the bank. For example, you could take a trip to the local museum, visit the zoo or simply go to the cinema. There are a wide variety of fun and inexpensive activities for the whole family to enjoy without having to venture too far.


Becoming more frugal doesn't necessarily require any drastic measures and with a little extra effort from you and your family members, you should be able to make improvements to your financial situation.